Sunday, 28 July 2013

This year's birthday mathom (I am thinking I might make it an annual event, as would any self-respecting Baggins, Boffin, or Bracegirdle) is about 70% complete, being the patron Hizzzgrad, Daemonic Lord of Crawling Things. I am currently working on his Level 2 patron spell, Animated by Worms. I am considering throwing in a bit of extra, like some related magic items, "just because".Suggestions for extras will be considered, but due to time constraints, I cannot guarantee anything.If you have already responded to the mathom post (updated), make sure that I have an email address to send this to you! Mathoms will be going out as soon as I get my lazy ass out of bed on August 4th. If you have received nothing by August 5th, and you think this is an oversight, then email me asap and I will correct it as soon as I get the email.I can be reached by email at ravencrowking at hotmail dot com.Some preview material:

None
has ever seen Hizzzgrad, the Daemonic Lord of Crawling Things, but his voice
has been heard in the evil chirpings of crickets in lonely places at night,
and his will has been made known through scorpions speaking with unnatural
voices. His voice was heard in one
world by a wayfarer in the desert, manifested through the sounds of night
insects, that led to the writing of that benighted book, The Necronomicon (as it
appeared on that world) and drove the Arabic wanderer mad.

Hizzzgrad
manifests through all manner of creatures that creep and crawl – serpents,
lizards, crabs, spiders, and the beetles that feed on dung and corpses. His dominions are the stinging flies, the
swarms of locusts, and the spineless blind worms that writhe deep beneath the
ground. There is much he knows of
corpses and the dead, and those Wizards who would wield the Arts Necromantic
seek the patronage of this Daemonic Lord.

Hizzzgrad’s
ceremony must be conducted in a graveyard or crypt oozing with worms or
crawling with invertebrates.

Patron Taint: Hizzzgrad

Those
tainted by their connection to Hizzzgrad become less human. Insanity creeps upon them as they listen
more and more to the voices of the crickets in the night, and identify more
with the creeping things that hide from the sun than they do with their
fellow men. And, as is well known,
those who follow Hizzzgrad are compelled to write of their journey into
inhuman madness, and their missives can lead others into psychosis. Those who would read the tainted ramblings
of the Lord of Crawling Things’ followers do so at their own risk…for thus
does Hizzzgrad gain followers to whom the Daemonic Lord owes nothing
whatsoever.

Roll

Result

1

Night Voices: When this taint is first rolled, the wizard
becomes aware of words and language hidden in the nocturnal sounds of
crickets, serpents, and flies. Even the
whine of mosquitoes carries a message, if only she could understand it. When this patron taint is rolled a second
time, the wizard begins to understand the voices, and they bolster her spell
casting. When the wizard is in a
location where she can hear the night chorus (judge’s determination), she
gains a +2 bonus on all spell checks.
When this is rolled a third time, the meaning of the voices becomes
far clearer, and more terrible. The wizard
retains the previous bonus, and, in addition, the judge may tell the wizard
additional rumours and secrets, as well as provide adventure hooks. However, if this taint is rolled again,
treat as if Madness (see below) were rolled instead.

2

Madness: When this patron taint is first rolled, the
character begins to go mad. Initially,
this is just a role-playing consideration (and the judge should encourage
role-playing the increased madness).
Thereafter, each time this taint is rolled, the character permanently
loses 1d3 points of Personality and gains a +1 bonus to his Will saves. Each point of Personality loss can only be
recovered by performing an act of madness so astounding that the judge
chooses to return the point. Each
time, the judge should require something that tops the previous act. Eventually, the player will be forced to play
out the character’s madness, accept the Personality loss, or retire the
character. If the character’s
Personality drops below 3, irrevocable insanity causes the character to
become an NPC under the judge’s control.
There is no other limit to how often this taint can be rolled.

Etc.

This is a special thank you for those of you who have taken the time out to provide feedback (as per the "mathoms" post), and there are no plans to release it more broadly at this time.

Thank you, everyone, who helped spread the word about the Eggplant Productions kickstarter, Spellbound & Spindles. It funded yesterday, so I have 59 days in which to bring to you a lovely little adventure which I call "Prince Charming, Reanimator". A bit of history.I had originally conceived PC,R as the first of a series of adventures that combine early fairy tales and Appendix N fiction. PC,R was intended as a 0-level funnel, with a group of follow up adventures that all contain interconnected references, and thus could be used as a campaign. I.e., Creeping Beauty of the Wood, The Little Mermaid of Innsmouth, etc. Together they would form Faerie Tales From Unlit Shores.So, at this point, I am looking for a publisher who would like to deal with the entire Faerie Tales From Unlit Shores package. The criteria includes that, while I will not charge for the writing of PC,R, the pdf version must be made available free no later than 24 September 2013. We can then work on the remaining 5 adventures, which can be sold however you like, creating a group of interconnected adventures that run from 0 to 5th level.Interested parties, please send me an email at ravencrowking at hotmail dot com.

Secondly, Mathoms. On August 4, 2013, I am going to send out a full patron, Hizzzgrad, the Daemonic Lord of Crawling Things, in accordance to the "contest" rules found in this post. I put "contest" in quotes because, really, there is no way you can lose. All you have to do is insult my work somewhere and link back, and you've got something for free.As mentioned on this post, you have until August 3rd to participate. If Hizzzgrad appears elsewhere, it will not be anytime soon.

Sunday, 21 July 2013

Time is running out for this puppy to get its backing, and Raechel Henderson, who is behind Eggplant Productions, is both a good person and a good friend.So this is what I am going to do. You remember the free module, The Thing in the Chimney? I am going to write another free adventure if this thing gets backed that blows The Thing in the Chimney back up to the North Pole. And you'll be able to get that adventure, whether you back Raechel or not.....but only if this kickstarter makes its goal.What I would like you to do is pass this on, share it, send it to anyone you think might be interested. If the kickstarter makes its goal, I will write and make available for free Prince Charming, Reanimator. It'll be available within 60 days of the Eggplant kickstarter's success.That's the deal. Please help me help a friend.

Yesterday's run of Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror ran from 1 pm to 4:30, with a group of four people (one of whom had played in my Sailors on the Starless Sea World Tour event, and the other three new to the game). One of the players was the owner of the store where the event was taking place (Wizard's Cache at 333 Bloor Street West in Toronto), which certainly was a bonus.

The group did not get through the module, largely due to the time spent defeating the first group of monsters....the dice were rolling a series of "1"s for the players that allowed me to show what divine disapproval and fumbles were like. There was also, on the other hand, a couple of criticals (the thief backstabbing the titular dancing horror).....and a monster against a PC!

(Rolling over the body was demonstrated....one success, one failure. In the heat of the moment, I erred and forgot to take away a stat point.)

They also spent a lot of time playing with candles (and had fun doing so). The module proceeded as expected in terms of which rooms got explored first - that the initial monsters came from the east led the players eastward first, before they backtracked and headed north.

The dancing horror was effective. They discovered what it did without anyone actually falling victim to it wholly, and one character, attempting to cast scare through a certain item, almost presented it to the horror, becoming immune to the creature in the process, but she pulled it back.

The creep factor was high. There was a lot of hesitation about what to do next. Unfortunately, some of the players were involved in a Changeling game that began just after 4:30, so we had to call it quits just before the hoardling made its dread appearance.

Handing out swag was fun. Afterwards, I left a stack of DCC bookmarks with the store to help with their promotions, and I was asked if I could run another before my next scheduled date in August. I then spent the next hour plus in the store, showing the DCC rulebook to other interested customers, handing out some freebies from my swag, and getting people ready to try it out during the Wizard's Cache MiniCon, where I will be running Michael Curtis' Frozen in Time.

This was the fifth World Tour event I have set up, and the fourth successful one (even if every successful event did not run exactly as expected). The goal of increasing the profile of DCC in Toronto proceeds in a disorderly fashion.

I have another extra copy (contributor's copy) of the Goodman Games Free RPG Day module from 2013, which will be given to one player of the Frozen in Time game. which will be announced soon on this blog. If my contributor copies from Brave Halfling come in time, I might have even more stuff to give away!

If you are wondering whether or not you should come out to play, you should. I've told George I'll happily take a table of 8 players. You can reach Wizard's Cache at 647-748-3433. There is an $8 preregistration fee, or $12 at the door, for the MiniCon, which runs from Friday through Sunday. Take in as many games as you can, and make your money stretch as far as it will go, but keep August 16th, from 1 pm to 5 pm, free for Frozen in Time. Much mayhem with Mr. Curtis' best adventure yet!

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

After exploring The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk
and continuing on to Lair of the Mist Men (which are
already linked by the titular Mist Men appearing in Jonas Gralk), the brave
explorers go back into the swamp to dig up a treasure they discover on a
map. Around this time, the first lucky
star goes missing. They encounter The
Folk of Osmon in the swamp.
Other stars disappear from the night sky, and the group is drawn to aid
the Sea Queen as she claims in dreams that she knows what is making the stars
disappear. As the group makes its way to
the coast, a servant of Bobugbibilz urges them to solve The Croaking Fane, in
return for which its master will give them news related to the disappearance of
the stars. What the party learns from Bobugbibilz’s
servants and The Sea Queen Escapes leads them to the Ronti Islands, where
they encounter Stars in the Darkness, and either restore their Luck or die
trying.

Monday, 15 July 2013

The Folk of Osmon (Purple Duck Games) is now available.A mighty civilization once thrived where now only lonely Osmon Mire stretches across the land. The crumbled and vine-laden ruins of ages-old buildings arise here and there from the reedy mud and water. The remains of statues and derelict temples adorn low hills rising from the muck. Fell beasts roam the mire at night and man-like shapes haunt the swamp. After dark none willingly passes the low hill, with its blood-encrusted altar stone, where the Folk of Osmon are said to sacrifice their victims.The Campaign Elements series is designed to help judges create persistent campaign worlds, as well as deal with patron quests, divine requests, and the sudden need to “Quest For It”. Whether it is because you are short on players one evening, or the wizard needs to locate a new spell, the Campaign Elements series has you covered.Each of these areas is short enough to be played through by most groups in only a single session. That doesn't mean that the value of the area is limited to a single session – each adventure includes notes on “squeezing it dry”…effectively getting the maximum re-use from your investment.An adventure for Dungeon Crawl Classics characters across multiple levels.This Campaign Element is perfectly suitable to drop into Perils of the Sunken City (and the related Sunken City adventures) by Purple Sorcerer Games as a side trek or adventure seed. Special thanks to Purple Sorcerer Extraordinare Jon Marr for permission to mention a possible tie-in to the Sunken City in the solicitation text for this product. First Review: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2013/07/mini-review-folk-of-osmon-dcc-rpg.html

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Part of running a game is making judgement
calls. This is so true that, in early
D&D (as in DCC) the game master was often referred to as the “judge”. Anyone who is even halfway decent at running
a game is going to try to make judgement calls which make sense within the
context of the game milieu, the rules, and his understanding of what the rules
represent. Further, a good judge
attempts to neither favour nor disfavour the players.

What makes sense to the judge will not
always make sense to the players. Role-playing games are built around information disparity. The judge always has information that the
players do not have. The information is
never complete – not only would complete information be impossible, but it
would be undesirable.

First, the more complete prep work must be,
the worse the ratio from prep time to play time. Even if the judge manages to gain two hours
play from each hour prep, this still means that he has to work for two hours in
order to arrange a four-hour play session.

Second, while it is desirable to map out
contingencies for the most likely courses of game play, mapping out
contingencies for all possible courses would make game play dull for the person
running the game. It is the unconsidered
plans of the players, and the unexpected turn of the game, which provides true
thrill for the judge.

Finally, determining all possibilities
ahead of time, by tautology, delimits play to those possibilities. For instance, if a ruleset has no rules that
allow for decapitation, and the ruleset determines all possibilities, then
decapitation cannot happen within the context of the game.

I am one of those GMs who believes that RPG
rules should not be written for lawyers.
They should not require massive amounts of homework to determine how to “legally”
make a monster, nor should they require the person running the game to memorize
clauses and subclauses in order to play the game. Moreover, I strongly believe that the game
rules serve the fictional milieu, not the other way around. The game rules give support to the fictional
milieu, but if there is a situation where the milieu and the rules are in
conflict, the milieu wins.

For example, if a party is attacked by an
ice elemental, I don’t care if the author failed to note that it was impervious
to cold – I can extrapolate that.
Likewise, if the author failed to note a vulnerability to fire, and the
players realize that an ice elemental is likely to be more damaged by fire than
electricity, I am not going to penalize player ingenuity on the basis of the
writer’s lapse. I am very much
fiction-first.

In the case of a game like Dungeon Crawl
Classics, I am very much of the opinion that the judge is intended to interpret
the results of various tables and charts – including spell results – in a way
that makes sense first in the fictional milieu, matches the rules second, and
echoes the writing upon which both were based (the literature of Appendix N) as
often as possible.

In the immortal words of Joseph
Goodman: “The judge is always right. Let
the rules bend to you, not the other way around.” If the judge believes that something should
work in a particular way, that is the way that it works.

In order to make the game work, the judge
needs the authority to interpret the rules.
This doesn’t just mean to interpret the rules when the interpretation
favours the players. It doesn’t even
simply mean when the interpretation is a good one.

Every GM is going to make bad rules
calls. Sometimes those calls will work
against the players. Far more often,
they will work to the players’ benefit.
The judge will forget that some monster has an extra action die. He will decide that the 200 giants not
currently engaged in melee don’t throw their javelins. He’ll forget a negative effect that is
attached to some magical item that the party is using, and, having forgotten
it, will decide not to retroactively bring the pain. He won’t make you go back and re-do the fight
where the cleric is casting full-round spells as actions.

Players do not usually demand that the
effects of bad rules calls, or mistakes in their favour, get undone. Even when the battle is in progress, they do
not generally wish to “roll back” to the first time a character got to take
more actions per round than was strictly allowed under the RAW. Some of those same players will scream bloody
murder if they believe a rule call made against them was bad. Some will even expect the GM to justify any
rule call that goes against them.

I have no desire to run a game where I am
not able to make rules calls as I see fit.
In all cases, I try to make what seems to me to be the best rule call at
the time. I may make a mistake. I may not make the best call possible. But in each case I try to do so. And I really, really don’t want to grind the
game to a halt so that we can argue for four hours about whether nor not you
took 2 points of damage. I especially do
not want to do so if the argument is hostile.
Accept the call, move the game forward, and discuss it after the game or
on a non-game day. If an adjustment
needs to be made, it can be done then.

Last night I made two judgement calls about
how the magic shield spell works.
I ruled that, at its highest value, magic shield does not reduce ability
damage from poison, and that it does not reduce ability damage caused by
contact (that, in effect, once the attack had bypassed the +8 AC bonus, it had
made contact). I had ruled that “damage”
in the spell, effectively, was reduced as a result of a cushioning effect
(i.e., a decrease in velocity softens blows that target the protected
characters, and that this loss of velocity is what defeats missile attacks).

The poisoning occurred as the result of the
caster’s own spell, as a secondary magical effect in the area he was in. Part of my ruling was based upon this; if magic
shield protected from this effect, consistency would require that it
also protect the caster from effects of mercurial magic that might cause the
caster damage. There was divine power
involved as well, which I took into consideration (although I would expect magic
shield to protect from a bolt from the blue, say, I believe it
would not be unreasonable for direct divine intervention to trump magic
shield…YMMV).

Similarly, I would not have assumed that magic
shield prevented drowning, or aided a character who chose to take some drug
that caused Intelligence loss. Once
something is inside the body, it is past the shield, and past the shield’s
damage reduction. I would have ruled the
same if a PC were using a poisoned dagger against a creature similarly
protected – the AC would determine if it hit, the shield would reduce the
dagger damage, but it it hit, the poison would be unaffected by the
shield. It is quite possible to get
wounded below the threshold of 1 hp and still break skin – the ubiquitous
poison pin trap on dozens of dungeon chests does the same thing.

This is not the only possible
interpretation. It is not necessarily
the best
interpretation. In may not even be a good
interpretation. It may even be a craptacular
interpretation. In order to run the
game, you have to be able to make rulings, and to not be paralyzed for fear
that one might be sub-optimal.

Anyway, I interpret this as falling under
camp rules: If you insult the food, it’s
your turn to cook. I am hoping to get
out from behind the screen for a few weeks with the home group, to recharge my
batteries, and let them have some idea of what running the game is like.

Tuesday, 9 July 2013

All language is, by its very nature,
subjective, although some statements are closer to objectivity than
others. It is nearly impossible to make
a complex statement without also communicating ideas that are implied by, but
not contained within, the statement.

I
say “nearly impossible” because there might be counter-examples out there, somewhere,
even though I have never seen one. I very much doubt that you have
either. The nature of language is such
that the odds of a counter-example are exceedingly remote; this is a problem
which has long been known to those who study language and philosophy.

In fact, it is a problem that most of us are
aware of well before we get out of high school.

Many go through a phase of wondering if what they see as “green” and
what you see as “green” is the same thing.
Most of us get beyond the navel-gazing implications and move on. Some of us retain an awareness that language
is always vague to some degree, and attempt to compensate for it. Others not so much. There will always be those who believe that they
can put forward an argument that carries no implications beyond the precise
words that they choose. When you ask about/point out implications,
and you get immediate responses like

I made a post about the thing I wrote about
that says the things I wrote, not about the opinions of some phantom
side-picking idiots.

Please check your baggage before boarding.

that should be a clear indication that something
other than honest discourse is going on. And that doesn't necessarily mean that the writer is lying to you. As often as not, human beings tell themselves stories about how they are clear and precise, and the world simply fails to understand them. As the saying goes, a poor workman blames his tools, and we are all poor workmen from time to time.

First off, what we say always carries more information than
what is intended. In addition to
multiple potential denotative meanings, words and phrases carry connotative
meanings and meaning by implication. No
one can say “If I meant something other than what was written there, I would
have written that instead” with any
degree of validity. Even perfect mastery
of language would not help; language is imperfect.

Reader bias is significant. Whenever we read something, the words always
come through a filter that operates, essentially, as “If I had written that, this
is what I would have meant by those words”. The implication is that, therefore, there is
a good chance that the writer meant something similar.

Because writing lacks the tone, inflection,
and contextual clues offered by gestures and facial expressions which
face-to-face communication provides, these problems are exacerbated. I firmly believe that most InterWeb arguments
would end quickly over a pint at the local pub, not because of the pint or the
pub, but because face-to-face communication offers greater clarity of intent.

Even so, it is incumbent upon the writer to be careful about what he writes. if you don't want the reader to look for meaning that can be extrapolated from what you're writing, for example, you should probably not call it a parable. A parable implies a lesson, metaphor, or subcontextual meaning to be extracted.

This post has little to do with gaming, but
it has a lot to do with how we talk about gaming on the InterWebs. As writers, we should not be so quick to
assume malice or laziness on the part of those who draw different conclusions
from what we wrote. As readers, we
should try to separate out our reader bias, and accept clarifications that are
offered from the writer. These things
are not always easy to do – I feel pretty certain that any
reader of this blog knows that I fail in this regard as often as I succeed –
but they are important to attempt.

Friday, 5 July 2013

There are more excellent posts out there than I could ever point out, let alone read, but this is one worth promoting!"The GM creates things and situations with potential results, but does not play favorites with those results."Absolutely spot on.Read the full post here!

There is apparently some confusion about what an epic endgame is. What is an epic endgame, why would you want one, and why would you indicate what types of epic endgames there might be out there at the start of a campaign? What makes it epic? For that matter, what makes it an endgame?

Robin Hood: [to Marian] It's so beautiful, this place... the woods just now... full of noises... everything so alive. I kept thinking of all the death I've seen. I've hardly lost a battle, and I don't know what I've won. 'The day is ours, Robin,' you used to say, and then it was tomorrow. But where did the day go?

If you've seen Robin and Marion, you know Robin Hood's line, "I'd never have a day like this again, would I? Well, it's better this way." and you know what an epic endgame is all about. It is not about beginning a character's career, or growing the character, it is about endings. It is a chance to do something with a character that will forever change the campaign world, and make that character remembered for years to come. It is about letting a beloved character go, knowing that the character has achieved a peak, and would never have a day like that again.It does not mean that the character disappears from the campaign world, or that the character need die, or even that the character need never pick up sword and lance and enter the fray again. It means that the focus of play is shifting to younger characters, characters eager still to make their mark upon the world.Ultimately, role-playing games are about accomplishing something in a world where daily life holds little chance of real accomplishment. Possible endgames are telegraphed throughout a campaign because, if the impossible is possible for you, when you first meet it, then overcoming it means nothing.An epic endgame is epic within the scope of the campaign milieu. If travel to alternate worlds is common, then travelling to an alternate world is not epic enough to count. Not only are the stakes high in the epic endgame - even if only because death is around every corner - but the challenge is real. This might mean Gary Gygax's Tomb of Horrors. It might mean Harley Stroh's Colossus Arise!. It might mean wresting an island from the Venetians and then holding it from the Turks. Achievement is measured in relation to the milieu in which it occurs.Every James Bond villain that ever was? All of them have been thwarted while in the process of attempting to achieve their own epic endgames.Think of the real world for a second. If you are daring, you know where the epic endgames lie. Fort Knox. Mount Everest. The Tour de France. Running for high political office. The Pulitzer Prize. The Nobel Prize. Trying to find a cure for AIDs. You know what all of these have in common? You have to take big risks to achieve anything, and the odds are good that you won't succeed. Those who do succeed in their epic endgames - well, we know who they are. Mother Theresa. Muhammad Ali. Alexander the Great. George Washington. Abraham Lincoln.They achieve their endgame, or fail in the attempt, and then never have a day like this again. Their star shines bright to beckon others onward, but they have had their day, and the focus of history shifts to those who are daring enough to try to rise from the shadows.Not every character will achieve an epic endgame. But in a well-managed campaign milieu, lures to achieve something beyond the reach of normal men - or even normal adventurers! - are always in the background. Because that is what life is, and that is what best allows the players to have an opportunity for achievement in the game.The alternative is "I've hardly lost a battle, and I don't know what I've won." If that's your thing, go for it. It's not mine.

Thursday, 4 July 2013

The Falcate Idol is now available at RPG Now.The Cult of the Harrower is ancient, and each of the eight eyes of its spider-idol is rumored to be a moonstone gem the size of a pigeon's egg. Moreover, somewhere within the cult's sanctuary, a pool flows from the Egg of Creation. Will your Thief seek to make a legendary score? Will your Wizard pursue the shards of the Egg? Will your Cleric join the cult? Or will your Warrior fight his way through the web-covered passages to rescue them if they fail? Any or all of these scenarios are possible!The Campaign Elements series is designed to help judges create persistent campaign worlds, as well as deal with patron quests, divine requests, and the sudden need to “Quest For It”. Whether it is because you are short on players one evening, or the wizard needs to locate a new spell, the Campaign Elements series has you covered.Each of these areas is short enough to be played through by most groups in only a single session. That doesn't mean that the value of the area is limited to a single session – each adventure includes notes on “squeezing it dry”…effectively getting the maximum re-use from your investment.An adventure for 2-8 level 2 Dungeon Crawl Classics characters. This adventure is also suitable for 1-2 level 3 characters, or a solo level 4 thief who relies primarily upon stealth and caution.First Review: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2013/07/mini-review-falcate-idol-dcc-rpg.html

Come meet the Mahmat Troth and the One they adore. Only in the high pass will you discover what the Black Goat truly is.

The Campaign Elements series is designed to help judges create persistent campaign worlds, as well as deal with patron quests, divine requests, and the sudden need to “Quest For It”. Whether it is because you are short on players one evening, or the wizard needs to locate a new spell, the Campaign Elements series has you covered.

Each of these areas is short enough to be played through by most groups in only a single session. That doesn't mean that the value of the area is limited to a single session – each adventure includes notes on “squeezing it dry”…effectively getting the maximum re-use from your investment.

A Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign element for use with characters of all levels.

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

This Saturday, 6 July 2013, at the Wizard's Cache (333 Bloor St. West, near the St. George subway station), I will be running The Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror. Second level pregens will be supplied. Game starts at 1:00 pm.Hope to see you there!

Search This Blog

Follow by Email

Disclosure

This blog has now moved to the OneBookShelf affiliate system. So, if you follow a link from here to RPGNow or DriveTrhuRPG and then make a purchase within the next 15 days, 5% of the purchase price (minus gift certificates) will be credited to my account. It costs you nothing; you can consider it a tip. The link can be adjusted in your browser to remove the affiliate tag, if you so desire.